An Affair to Forget
by vargagirl
Summary: Prue hurts her sister in the worst way possible. Can Phoebe forgive her? How far will Prue go until she can forgive herself? COMPLETE
1. Seventh Date

**A/N:** set in season three, only Cole never came along. magic is still around but not in the story. rated PG-13.

**Chapter One: Seventh Date**

•••••

Phoebe Halliwell woke up to the smell of coffee floating through the manor. She dragged herself out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen where Piper was making breakfast.

"Smells good." She sat down at the kitchen table.

"Thanks," Piper poured her a glass of coffee and brought it over with her pancakes. She sat them in front of her sister, got some more for herself, and sat down at the table.

Phoebe smiled as she dived into her breakfast. "So, why are you up so early?" She said through bites of pancake.

"I have some shopping I need to get done. Now I ask the same thing to you. Why are you up now?" Piper raised an eyebrow.

"I have a date with Gavin tonight."

"And you need to start getting ready at eight o'clock in the morning?" Piper teased.

"No. I just have nothing to wear. So I'm gonna go shopping. What are you shopping for?"

"Not clothes. You're on your own."

"I don't know about that. Maybe Prue will come with me."

"Maybe." She paused, "So, how many dates will this make with that boyfriend of yours?" Piper smiled as her sister's face lit up.

"Seven." She sighed. "I think I'm in love with him."

Piper smiled at the look of contentment on her sisters face. "You definitely look it."

Phoebe looked quizzically at her. Piper just smiled and stood up, grabbed her plate, and walked over to the sink. She turned on the water and started humming a song Phoebe had never heard. Phoebe smiled and turned back to her food.

•••••

"Prue! Could you get the door?" Phoebe yelled down from the second floor.

"Yeah!" Prue yelled back. She stood up from the couch in the parlor and walked into the foyer. She opened the door to reveal Phoebe's date. "Hi Gavin, come in." He walked past Prue into the foyer. "Phoebe's running a little behind."

He turned to look at her. "That's alright. I'll just wait with you." He smiled as he looked her up and down. He wiggled his eyebrows and Prue frowned.

"How about you just stay there. She shouldn't be more than a few minutes." She said and walked back into the parlor. She sat down and looked over as he sat down dangerously close to her. She moved away from him, but he moved closer to her. She picked the book up that she had been reading earlier and attempted to continue reading.

She felt something on her leg. She looked down and saw Gavin's hand on her thigh. She looked up at him, disgusted, and he smiled. She grabbed his hand, picked it off her leg and dropped it in his own lap.

"Now, baby, don't be like that," he whispered.

"What the hell is your problem?" She whispered back.

"I just want to fuck you. Is that so bad?" He leaned in to kiss her. She pushed him off of her and stood up. Phoebe came running down the stairs. She walked in to the parlor and looked at Prue and then at Gavin.

"I'm ready." She smiled at him.

"Good, let's go." He stood up and walked back over to the door. Prue rushed after them and grabbed Phoebe by the arm as Gavin opened the door. Phoebe turned to look at her.

"Prue, let go of me." She said in a hushed tone. She flashed a smile at Gavin.

"We need to talk. Now." Prue whispered.

"It can wait." Phoebe whispered back, starting to get angry. She pulled her arm out of Prue's grip and walked out the open door. Gavin looked at Prue and smirked. He followed Phoebe and closed the door behind him.

Prue stared at the closed door. "Dammit," she whispered.

••••• 

**A/N #2:** so did it suck? you should leave me reviews to let me know.


	2. Mistake

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Charmed. If I did, then I'd be rich and I wouldn't be on here writing my fan fiction and the show would be a completely different show. It would be very very different. Charmed is owned by Spelling and that other dude, or it's owned by Constance M. Burge, or it's owned by someone else. Not totally sure who. And this disclaimer goes for the entire story, including the last chapter. It just kinda slipped my mind.

**A/N: **Thoughts are in italics. And I know this is a short chapter but the next chapter needs to be separated from this one. And as the story goes on, the chapters will get longer, quite a lot longer. But the next few chapters aren't gonna be too lengthy. And the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to kick out stories. Even if they're not so great reviews. I like constructive criticism.

And to my fabulous two reviewers: thank you so so so so so much. sexyirishBeep and Robin-a-Bobbin, both of you are awesome. it's all the motivation i need to keep going.

**Chapter Two: Mistake**

•••••

Prue stood in the solarium early the next morning. She was watching the birds play in the birdbath in the back yard. She heard someone walk down the stairs and quickly spun around to see Gavin attempt to sneak out of the house.

"Sleep with her and now you're done with her?" She asked. He looked at her, hurt by what she said, and walked over to her.

"No, I have a meeting early this morning and I need to get ready for it."

"If you say so."

He walked a little closer to her. "You know, you're very pretty." Prue didn't move an inch. "Very, very pretty." He moved closer. He reached out and put his hand on Prue's cheek. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled warmly at her. She pulled away from him.

"Bastard." She slowly walked away.

"Prue, don't deny it." She spun around to look at him with hatred filled eyes. "You know there's something between us." Once again, she didn't move as he advanced on her. "Something that has to be played out." He walked as close to her as he could get. He wrapped his arm around her waist. She didn't flinch. He moved in and kissed her passionately.

He put his other hand on the back of her neck, gently holding her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

_Noo!_ She thought. She pushed him away from her. He looked into her eyes questioningly. Prue studied his expression. He looked hurt.

"I thought we both wanted this." He said. He shook his head and walked away from her. She heard the front door close and she stood, paralyzed, with tears running down her cheeks.

_What have I just done?_


	3. Too Far

**A/N: **Well, this chapter was originally supposed to be just the last section. But I thought the first section needed to exist. So I wrote it. Crazy stuff, huh?

And my lone chapter two reviewer - shanfan. Phoebe's been getting on my nerves a little lately. But then again, season three for Phoebe isn't the best. Thanks for the review. ♥

**Chapter Three: Too Far**

•••••

Phoebe went downstairs that morning to find Prue still standing in the solarium. She hadn't moved in the two hours since Gavin left. Phoebe walked into the room, her footsteps echoed through the empty house. Prue didn't notice her. _What's up with her,_ Phoebe thought.

"Morning," Phoebe said, attempting to be cheery. When she had woken this morning alone, she was surprised and upset. But she had decided not to let it get to her too much. _Gavin is too much of a sweetheart to sleep with me and then break up with me,_ she had thought.

Prue turned around, surprised by the sudden intrusion on her thoughts. "Oh, Phoebe. Uh.. hi." She replied, forcing a smile. "Um, Gavin." Phoebe looked up from a spot on the floor to find her sister studying her. "I was up early this morning and we talked for a few moments before he left."

"What'd he say?" Phoebe asked.

"He said he had a meeting this morning that he had to prepare for. And that was pretty much it." Prue said, hoping that her emotions weren't obvious. _I can't tell her. I should, but I can't. Dammit, I don't know what to do,_ she thought.

Phoebe let out a sigh of relief. Her gaze drifted from Prue to the wall, then over to the clock. Her eyes widened. It was nearly eleven. "I have class in an hour," She said as Prue dug her car keys out of her pocket. She held them out and Phoebe stared at them. "What are those for?"

"Take my car." Prue said as guilt filled her thoughts. _Even if she never finds out, I still need to make it up to her._

"Prue, I was just gonna take the bus. I need to go to the library after class and I don't know how long I'll be there."

"It's fine. I was just planning on staying here today anyway. Seriously, take my car. It's fine." Prue said, jingling the keys.

Phoebe reluctantly took them and said, "thanks."

"Sure. Now you better get going, pajama girl." Prue smiled as Phoebe looked down at her pink elephant pajamas. Grinning, she looked back up and Prue had tears in her eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked softly, as the smile was replaced with a look of concern.

"Nothing.. nothing." Prue inwardly cursed herself for letting her thoughts get to her.

"Real convincing. Talk to me."

"No. It's nothing. I'm just really happy to see how far you've come. I'm so proud of you." Prue said, avoiding the real reason she was crying.

"Aww, sweetie." Phoebe walked over to Prue and hugged her. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too." Prue said as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Phoebe pulled away from Prue and studied her face. She wiped Prue's cheek and smiled at her. _That's it, I'm gonna tell her,_ Prue thought.

"I gotta get going," Phoebe said as she turned and walked away from Prue. "Thanks again for your car," she said over her shoulder as she walked up the stairs.

"No problem," Prue replied. _Now!_ She thought. "Umm, Phoebe..." Prue said as Phoebe stopped on the landing of the stairs.

"Yeah?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can we talk?" Prue started nervously picking at a loose thread on her shirt. _This is right. This is definitely the right thing to do._

"Can it wait 'til tonight? I really have to get going for class." Phoebe asked noting Prue's shaking hands. _Something's really not right._ "But I don't have to go if you need me."

"Oh, no, you need to go to class. It can wait." Disappointed, she thought, _I can tell her later. It's still the same._

"Are you sure?" Phoebe asked, taking in Prue's saddened expression.

Prue pulled herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, definitely." She paused. "Definitely," she added in a more assured tone of voice. "Go learn something. We can talk after you get home." She forced another smile at her sister. Phoebe nodded and continued walking up the stairs.

Prue turned to look outside and whispered, "I can't tell her."

•••••

Later on that afternoon, Phoebe was still at the library and Piper was working at P3, leaving Prue at home to entertain herself. So far, she was managing that by lying on the couch and catching up on her latest celebrity gossip. It was Phoebe's magazine.

There was a knock on the door. Prue remembered she was home alone and stood up. She dropped the magazine down on the coffee table and walked towards the door. She opened it up to reveal Gavin. Without asking, he walked past Prue and entered the manor.

"Phoebe's not home. So you can just..." Prue said coldly and gestured for him to get out of her house.

"I'm not here for Phoebe. I'm here for you, Prue." Gavin charmingly smiled at her. Reflexively, she smiled back. That was all the incentive he needed.

He closed the door and she looked at him, confusion replacing the smile from seconds before. Passionately, he pressed his lips against hers and wrapped his arms around her small frame. She grabbed the hair on the back of his head and forced the kiss to deepen.

Between kisses she managed to say three words she would soon regret, "Let's go upstairs." She continued kissing him as she guided him over to the staircase. She pulled away from him and looked deep into his eyes. She smiled seductively at him, and then turned and walked upstairs. He watched her ascend, only pausing for a few seconds to look at the door to ponder his future actions. Quickly he followed her up to the second floor.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he found Prue waiting for him. She walked up to him and forcefully kissed him as she undid the buttons on his shirt. She turned him around and walked him towards her room, their lips still locked together. He fumbled with the doorknob behind him. She reached around him and opened the door, kicking it open as she ripped off his shirt. Throwing it on the ground, she pulled away from him once more.

He looked into her eyes and noticed a look of playfulness that was quickly replaced by one of passion. She put her hand up to his chest and pushed him onto the bed. She unbuttoned her blouse and turned away from him. As she walked over to the door, she took off her shirt and dropped it on the floor behind her. She closed her bedroom door and locked it.


	4. Guilty

**A/N:** shanfan, you are the bestest. and paige, you're the bestest too. you're both the bestest along with anybody else i deem the bestest. very select few. you two rock. and for anybody else, please please please review. cause then you'll rock too. and hey that rhymed. ok. now read. i'm hyper. i'll shh now.

**Cha****pter Four: Guilty**

•••••

Prue was lying with her head tucked into the nook of Gavin's neck. She inhaled deeply and soaked up the smell of his cologne. _Mmm, he smells so good._ She noticed a hand on her waist. He was gently stroking her hipbone. She sighed and kissed his neck softly. He smiled nervously.

"What?" She asked after she noticed his reaction.

"Tickles." She smiled. "So when does Phoebe get home?"

At the mention of her sister, Prue's mind went blank. Phoebe. Her sister. Gavin's girlfriend. _Oh shit. Oh shit. Nooo. Nonononooo._ She quickly pulled away from Gavin and sat up in bed. Clinging the sheets to her body, she dragged herself out of the bed and walked over towards her closet.

"Prue?" Gavin's voice brought her back to the physical world. "Prue? What's wrong?" He stood up naked and approached her. Her eyes darted around the room as he wrapped his arms around her shaking frame. Quickly she pulled away with him.

Tearfully, she looked him in the eye and quietly said, "No. Stay away from me."

"Prue, what's going on?" Gavin asked with concern laced in his voice.

"Do you know what we just did?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"We had sex. People do it everyday. It's no big deal."

"No. What we did to Phoebe. We just completely fucked everything up. Everything." She blinked back the tears and turned away from him. She reached into her closet and pulled out her bathrobe. She wrapped it around her as she dropped the sheets. He smiled as he saw a flash of her bare body. He walked up behind her again and wrapped his arms around her waist. One of his hands managed to sneak into her robe. She felt his warm fingers slide across the flesh on her stomach and up to graze over her breast. Her breathing was ragged as she pulled away from him again.

"Stop it," He caught a flash of anger in her eyes.

"Why?"

"Because this entire thing was wrong. We should never have-"

"What? Given in to what we knew was going to happen eventually? Prue, stop denying it. We have chemistry. It's something I haven't had with anyone in a long time. We belong together." He paused to take in a deep breath and sighed.

"Phoebe and I, we're good together. We get along, have good conversation, pretty decent sex." Prue shifted uncomfortably at the mention of her little sister sleeping with the same man that stood naked in front of her. "But, you and me? We click. You can't say that what just happened here wasn't great for you." She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued. "I heard your moans. And your screams. They were screams of passion. I know they meant something. I love what just happened. I want us to be together. Prue," He took in another deep breath. "I love you." Those three words pulled her out of her daydream of a life with Gavin and back into the real situation where she knew she would wind up Gavin-less.

"You love me?" She smiled at this comment. Quickly her expression turned to one of anger. "If you really loved me, you wouldn't have just hurt my sister like you did. There's no chance of us ever being together after this. None." He didn't respond.

"You don't honestly think that this is going to blow over with Phoebe and then we can finally be together, do you?" She said with anger rising in her voice.

"Now, Prue, calm down." He said as he noticed her white knuckles.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Do you know what we just did? Do you know how much it'll hurt Phoebe when she finds out?" Prue felt her own heart shatter into a million pieces as she thought of Phoebe's reaction. _What the hell was I thinking?_

"Who says she has to find out?" He smirked and raised his eyebrows. "This could just be our little secret." He added, shrugging his shoulders.

"What? No! I have to tell her." Prue said, fighting her own desires to kiss him. She wanted to feel his bare skin against hers. She wanted to feel him leave trails of kisses along her waistline. She wanted him to make love to her again. _No. I can't sleep with him again because then it would be even worse. The farther we get from each other, the better._

"Why?" He asked as she bent over and picked up the pile of sheets lying at her feet. She threw them in her closet and turned her attention back to an expectant Gavin.

"Because I can't let her continue going out with you." She said as she started gathering Gavin's discarded clothes.

"Even if it means losing a sister?" Thinking he had her cornered, he smiled.

"Yes." She paused as she took in a ragged breath. "I know what I just did will hurt her. But if you two keep dating, and you cheat on her somewhere down the line, it will destroy her. I couldn't live with myself if I knew I could have prevented that. What pain she might feel now could be far worse in the future. Unless it's over between you two."

"But, Prue, she'll hate you if you tell her." He smiled again.

"I know. But I deserve it." She paused as she gathered up the last of Gavin's clothes. "And so do you." She threw them at him. "I don't want you to call her. I don't want you to see her. Ever. Now get out of here before she gets home," she said coldly. He didn't move. "Get out now." She added in a harsher tone before spinning around and heading out the door.

As she walked down the hallway, tears started forming in her eyes. She went into the bathroom, and locked the door behind her. As she collapsed on the floor, silent tears began to fall.

She heard Gavin walk down the stairs. The tears multiplied. She heard him open and shut the front door. She let a few audible sobs slip out. A thought crossed her mind. One she hadn't thought of since she was seventeen. Quickly, she pushed it out of her mind. But as the minutes flew by, she knew there was nothing else she could do. It had helped her before, it can help her through this now. She had no other option.


	5. Slipped

**A/N: **It's been a while. Holidays. I did a week straight spending more than five hours every day with family. That's tiring. And this chapter has been difficult to write, which is why I kept putting it off. I think I wrote it pretty well, but any constructive criticism would be really appreciated. This chapter could possibly be rated R, I'm not sure exactly. And sorry for the long wait.

I love my three chapter four reviewers. shanfan, Dark Halliwell, and Paige- ya'll rock! As long as someone reviews, I'll write til I finish the story. Ya'll keep me going.

**Chapter Five: Slipped**

•••••

_Where is it?_ She frantically pushed objects around in the back of the cabinet. _I remember putting it back here. And then I moved it. Shit. Where'd I put- the medicine cabinet._ As she started to sit up, she slammed her head on the underside of the sink.

"Shit." She whispered as she carefully pulled herself out of the cabinet and stood up. She rubbed the back of her head as she reached up with her other hand to the top of the medicine cabinet. She felt around on the dusty surface until her fingertips hit cold metal. She picked up the object and brought it down to eye level. "Perfect."

She sat down on the floor in the middle of the bathroom. She pulled up the sleeve of her robe and stared at her slightly scarred flesh. _Do I really want to go back? It was so hard last time. Do I really want to put myself through that hell again? But if it's just this once..._

Giving in, she pressed the blade to the inside of her forearm and slowly dragged it across her skin. As a line of blood appeared, she felt a release that she hadn't felt in thirteen years. But it wasn't enough. She put the metal to her arm and made another tear in her skin. And another. Before she had realized it, her entire arm was covered in bleeding wounds. As she stared, the blood began running down the sides of her arm, threatening to make a mess.

Shaking in panic, she hastily stood up and walked over to the toilet. As she sat down, she grabbed a handful of toilet paper and pressed it to her arm. Slowly, the realization of what she had done hit her. _I shouldn't have done that. What happens if they find out? They can't. I can get through this without them finding out. I kept it hidden last time, I can do it again. And I've only done it once, and I'm not going to do it again. So there's really nothing to worry about. They'll never know._

After a few minutes and much more toilet paper, the cuts had stopped bleeding. She stood up, flushed down the blood-soaked papers and pushed down her sleeve. She walked over to where she left the razorblade on the floor and picked it up. She put it back where she had found it earlier. _No one will find it there. And if I need it again, I'll know where to find it. But I won't need it again. This was just a one time thing. It's not going to happen again. Ever._

Until she tasted the familiar taste of salt on her lips, she hadn't realized she had been crying. Quickly, she wiped her eyes and threw the bathroom door open. As Prue walked out the door, she spotted Phoebe coming around the corner. She attempted to go into her room before she was noticed, but it was too late.

"Prue," She turned to face her baby sister. At the sight of Prue's disheveled hair and watery eyes, concern smothered over Phoebe's lively expression. "What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked softly.

_I could tell her. But it wouldn't be fair to her. She doesn't need anymore pain in her life._ "Nothing." Prue replied in a harsh tone. She brushed past Phoebe and went in to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Phoebe winced as the loud bang resonated through the empty manor. Shoving away the hurt that came with her sister shutting her out, she turned towards Prue's closed bedroom door. _That was definitely something, Prue. Something really bad._


	6. Pushing Her Away

**A/N: **It's been a while again. No excuse this time. Just me putting it off and being lazy. Shame on me, I know. I'm also working on a new fic, don't know if I'll put it up or not. And I know most of the chapters have been really short, but they'll get longer eventually. and this one was supposed to be longer but I decided to just post what I had because it's been so long since I last updated. I'll just add on the other part to the next chapter.

charmedchick4eva - yup, it was Prue.

Dark Halliwell - teehee, thankya. I think I need your enthusiasm in my head 24/7

Charmedlife - I think the reason that no one's ever said shit or fuck is because you can pick it up with an antenna without cable. making it under FCC rules. I think, not sure. But I figure Prue would be a little less censored in a really bad point in time for her. And the theme song thing, I'll try it on the next chapter.

shanfan - see I'm not really sure about that either. but I think if Prue started when she was in her teenage years, then no matter what there would always be the possibility of her going back to it. and I think teenage Prue could've been driven to do it.

Paige - you're a dork. :o)

You five are awesome. Thank you guys for reviewing. You guys are like little ego boosters. Is that sad? Ok, I'll shut up.

**Chapter Six: Pushing Her Away**

•••••

After hearing her door slam behind her, Prue's eyes darted around her bedroom. She glanced at her discarded clothes. Then at the pile of sheets lying in her closet. Her eyes eventually settled down and rested on the remains of a pair of boxer shorts. Earlier, she had ripped them off of Gavin. And that was all she could take.

Furious, she walked over to the underwear lying on the floor and threw it in the closet next to her sheets. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she climbed into bed. She pulled the covers up over her and began to sob into her pillow. She heard a knock on her door and chose to ignore it, hoping her sister would go away.

Slowly, Phoebe opened the door. Prue was lying in bed with her back to the door. Phoebe absorbed the mess in Prue's bedroom. She pushed some hair out of her face as she watched her sister's shaking figure.

"Go away." Prue said between muffled sobs. She heard heels click on the wooden floor and felt someone sit down on the bed behind her. A hand was gently placed on her shoulder as another started running through her hair.

"Please tell me what's wrong,"

They both sat there for a few minutes of silence, occasionally being interrupted by a sob escaping Prue's mouth. _She wants to know. She's worried. She shouldn't worry about me. She doesn't need to worry. There's nothing to worry about._

Suddenly, Prue pulled away from Phoebe's arms and tucked herself into a tight ball. "Please, just go away," She said into her blankets.

"Prue, please, just talk to me." She received no response. "Are you mad at me?" Prue shook her head no. Phoebe breathed a small sigh of relief, still thinking she might be able to get her sister to open up. She reached out and placed her hand on Prue's arm. Quickly, Prue pulled away again.

"Why won't you let me help you?"

Hesitating slightly, Prue whispered, "because I don't deserve it."

"What? That's ridiculous. Prue, you are one of the kindest, most admirable people I know. I look up to you in so many ways. I've always wanted to be like you. Ever since I could remember, I wanted to be like you." She paused to let what she said sink in. "Please, please open up to me."

A fresh set of tears streamed down Prue's cheeks at her sister's heartfelt words. _I can't tell her. Especially not after that._ "Please... just leave me alone." Her voice was shaky and barely audible, but when she felt Phoebe stand up, she knew it was heard. Thinking Phoebe had left, Prue gave up trying to control her tears and quickly was unable to keep herself from loudly whimpering.

"I'll leave you alone for now. But if you want to talk, I'll be downstairs." After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, the door clicked shut and Prue's cries deepened, filling the room with the sounds of unbearable pain.

On the other side of Prue's door, Phoebe listened to her eldest sister's cries. A few tears slid down her cheeks as she slowly walked toward the stairs and down into the living room.


	7. Secret's Out

**A/N: **It took me a long time to get happy with this chapter. I hate writing and feeling like what I'm writing is crap, so I didn't write for a few days. And then I started writing again and what I did manage to write was complete crap. This is an edited version of crap. It's kinda-crap.

Anyway, to my chapter six reviewers: shanfan, Dark Halliwell, charmedchick4eva, yinyinhoney, Ruthy, and warped24, thank you guys so much. Your reviews keep me going. Ya'll are awesome.

**Chapter Seven: Secret's Out**

•••••

Prue walked into the kitchen the next morning to find Piper sitting down, reading the newspaper and sipping coffee. "Morning." Prue said cheerfully.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Piper said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Prue asked as she poured herself a glass of coffee.

"The walls in this house aren't that thick, Prue. I heard you crying into the early hours of the morning." She said and turned to face her sister. Prue's gaze was fixed firmly on the floor. "I was going to stay the night with you, but your door was locked."

Piper studied Prue for a few moments. She was wearing a black, bulky sweater and an extensive amount of make-up. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Prue answered as she looked up and forced a smile.

"That wasn't that convincing, but I'll let it slide for now. One question though. What's with the sweater? It's the middle of summer. This is when you're supposed to wear all your skimpy clothes. And before you come up with some clever reply, let me remind you that you said those exact words to me less than two weeks ago."

"I'm cold." Prue said, attempting to put an end to the questioning.

"Yeah, uh-huh." Piper nodded as she stood up. She walked over to Prue and placed her hand on Prue's arm. Prue slightly winced as Piper's thumb rubbed over one of her cuts. "You know you can talk to me, right?" Prue nodded. "Anytime you need to talk, I'm here." She added as she pulled her sister into a hug.

Prue's eyes closed in pain as her sister's body pressed against her arm. _She's worried. She doesn't need to worry about me. I don't deserve her help._

Phoebe stepped into the kitchen as Prue pulled away from Piper. Confusion and hurt flashed in Piper's eyes as Prue turned away from her.

"I've got to get to work." Prue said as she began to walk towards the doorway, keeping her eyes to the ground.

"I'm doing laundry today." Piper said to Prue's back.

"It's in my room." She answered as she slipped past Phoebe and left the kitchen. Phoebe's gaze followed her sister, until she was out of sight.

"Bye!" Piper called after her. She turned her attention towards a confused Phoebe. "I don't know." She said, answering the question she knew was about to come.

"A sweater?"

"She said she was cold."

•••••

Later that afternoon, Piper walked into Prue's bedroom and surveyed the mess. A large pile of used kleenex were sitting on the floor next to the bed. The blankets were hanging off the bottom of the bed, and the missing sheets were in a pile in the closet. Prue's clothes from yesterday were randomly scattered around the room. The lamp on the desk was knocked over and lying sideways on the floor. One pillow was lying in the middle of the bed, while the other one was lying next to the wall by the door.

Piper set down the large basket she was holding. She walked over to the pillow, picked it up and threw it on the bed. She then picked up Prue's clothes and threw them into her basket. She walked over to the closet and picked up the sheets and threw them next to her basket. She looked down and saw a plaid pair of boxer shorts laying where the sheets had just been. She picked them up by the waistband and pushed some hair out of her face to look at them.

Phoebe walked past Prue's bedroom and noticed Piper in the closet. She walked into the room and walked over to Piper. Piper looked at Phoebe and then looked back at the shorts. Phoebe looked at what she was holding and thought, _those look a lot like..._

"Gavin." Piper read off the leg of the shorts. Quickly she realized what she had said and looked up at Phoebe. Phoebe's eyes widened and they quickly began filling with tears.

Piper dropped the underwear and stood up. She wrapped her arms around her baby sister and Phoebe's cries deepened. As Piper attempted to soothe Phoebe, they both shared the same thought. _How could she?_


	8. Top of the World

**A/N:** Well, this is my update. Hey, I finally have nothing to say.

Ruthy, VenusAdonis, charmedchick4eva, shanfan and Dark Halliwell.. you guys are awesome! thank you sooo much for reviewing.

**Chapter Eight: Top of the World**

•••••

Prue walked in the kitchen after she got home from work that evening to find Piper chopping up vegetables, her back to Prue. She turned around and picked up a tomato sitting by the stove. She looked up and caught sight of Prue, standing in the doorway. Anger flashed in her eyes and the smile quickly fell from Prue's face.

"What's going on?" Prue asked.

"How could you?" Her voice was cold, and her eyes threatening.

"Could I what?"

"Sleep with Phoebe's boyfriend?"

Prue's eyes widened in horror. _Oh no. Oh no. She knows. How does she know? She can't know. This is just a bad dream. Everything's going to be fine when you wake up._

"What the hell were you thinking?" Piper said when she received no response. Prue stared blankly at her sister for a few moments. "Well" Piper added, obviously annoyed with her sister.

"I wasn't."

"Phoebe's upstairs crying her eyes out right now because of what you did."

"I-"

"You bitch. How could you do this to her?" She immediately regretted her choice of words, but didn't bother to correct herself.

"I don't know." Prue said and quickly walked out of the kitchen, in an attempt to run away from the pain she had caused both of her sisters. She ran to the front door and grabbed her purse and car keys. She heard footsteps run up behind her as she opened the front door.

"Prue, wait." She turned around and saw Piper standing in the foyer, just a few feet away from her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"Yeah you did. And you were right." She said and turned away from Piper and walked out the door. Piper ran out the doorway and followed after her sister.

"Prue, please. Don't leave."

Phoebe watched from a window in the attic as Prue walked out and got into her car, ignoring her sisters pleas. The engine to the BMW roared up and Prue backed out of the driveway and sped down the street. Piper watched Prue go as a few tears slid down her cheeks.

Phoebe backed away from the window and walked out of the attic and back into her bedroom. She had gone up to the attic earlier in an attempt to stop thinking about Prue and her boyfriend sleeping together. Being her bedroom reminded her of the nights he had spent there. She had hoped that since he hadn't ever been in the attic, she wouldn't think about him. But instead she thought about Prue betraying her.

She got to her bedroom and stood in the doorframe. She looked around and sighed. After crying for hours on end, she was drained. Emotionally and physically. She turned around and went downstairs and into the kitchen. She plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs and folded her arms on the table. She rested her forehead on them and Piper walked into the room.

"Hey, sweetie." Piper said as she walked over to Phoebe. Phoebe sat up to look at Piper. "Do you want me to fix you anything to eat"

Phoebe shook her head. "I'm not really hungry. Actually, thinking about food is making me a little nauseous."

"Ok. But if you want anything later, just let me know and I'll be happy to make it for you." She added with a smile.

"Thanks, Piper." Phoebe said and attempted a half-smile.

"Do you want anything else? Something to drink?" Piper asked as she put her hand on Phoebe's arm.

"No thanks."

"Okay." Piper watched as Phoebe's eyes wandered aimlessly around the room, eventually settling on the top of the table. "Do you want to do anything? Get out of the house, go see a movie?"

"Tempting, but I'm not really up for it." Phoebe said, her gaze never leaving the table.

"Of course you're not. I don't know what I was thinking." Piper said, inwardly cursing her stupidity.

Phoebe looked up at her sister. She could tell Piper was upset with herself. "Piper, it's okay. I know you just want to help. And that means a lot to me." She again gave a smile, hoping it would help Piper to relax.

"Well, I'm going to cook something anyways. I don't really have anything else to do. How about chocolate chip cookies? You love those."

"Those do kinda sound yummy." Phoebe said as she noted the growling in her stomach. "Probably should eat something."

"Chocolate chip cookies it is then." Piper said and smiled as she started getting out the ingredients. As Phoebe's attention returned to the kitchen table, Piper started humming a song. Phoebe recognized it instantly. It was one she'd heard just a few days ago in Prue's car.

•••••

Prue opened the door of her hotel room to be hit with the strong stench of cigarettes. She closed the door behind her and quickly locked it. She dropped her keys and purse on the lone table and then walked over to an armchair and sat down.

_I wished I was smarter, I wished I was stronger  
__I wished I loved Jesus the way my wife does_

She gripped the bottle tightly as she twisted off the lid. She threw it somewhere behind her and stared at the rim of the bottle as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

_I wished it had been easier, instead of any longer  
__I wished I could've stood where you would've been proud  
__But that won't happen now, that won't happen now_

She put the bottle to her lips and drank down a sip of whiskey. She pulled it away and rested it on her leg as more tears began to fall.

_I don't have to answer any of these questions  
__Don't have no God to teach me no lessons_

She sat the half-empty bottle down on the table and glanced around the room. It was dimly lit, one bed, one chair, one table. No television or radio. No decorations. Nothing. Just her. Her and her thoughts.

_This is what I've sunk to. This is what I deserve. After what I put her through, I don't even deserve this much._ Tears streamed down her face as she continued to inwardly berate herself. The pain became too much to bear and she felt her knees weaken and her body fall to the floor.

_I wished I'd a known you, wish I'd a shown you  
__All of the things I was on the inside_

Uncontrollable sobs shook her body as she clawed at the carpeting. Thoughts kept rushing through her head. _I don't deserve this. I don't deserve to live. No one wants me. No one needs me. The only people that ever mattered hate me now. All because of what I did. I fucked everything up and there's nothing I can do to fix it._

_I come home in the evening, sit in my chair  
__One night they called me for supper, but I never got up  
__I stayed right there in my chair_

She pushed herself up and turned towards her purse on the table. She grabbed her wallet and pulled out her library card. On the back, she had taped the razorblade. The day before she had become increasingly worried about someone discovering the blade. She had put it in her purse knowing no one needed her library card but her.

She pulled the tape off and tore the razorblade out of its hiding place. She pushed up her sleeve and saw the day old cuts. Angry, she shoved down her sleeve and jogged into the bathroom with the razorblade in her hand. She sat down on the toilet and put both of her feet on the wall in front of her. She pulled up her pant legs and quickly began tearing at the unmarked flesh.

_There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard  
__Disappearing every day without so much as a word somehow_

After covering both of her upper thighs with cuts, she finally felt slightly better. Not great, but good enough. She stopped the bleeding and stood up. She instantly was greeted with an intense wave of dizzyness and grabbed the wall to steady herself.

_Think I broke the wings off that little songbird  
__She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now_

She stared at the picture of her, Phoebe and Piper in her wallet. She traced Phoebe's smile as she stood smashed in between her sisters. The photo was a little more than a year old, but the memory now seemed so far away to Prue. _It's never going to be the way it was._ She sat down her wallet and walked over to the bed. She lied down and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.

_Cause everyone's singing, we just wanna be heard  
__Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow_

_Wanna grab a hold of that little song bird  
__Take her for a ride to the top of the world right now_

_•••••_

**leetle a/n:** the song is "Top of the World" by the Dixie Chicks. and it wasn't meant to be a song fic, but i liked it that way.


	9. Confrontations

**A/N:** It's been two an a half months. I kept sitting down to write but couldn't manage to get anything out. I wasn't as picky with the editing as I usually am. I just wanted to get this posted. So, yeah. And to everyone who's reviewed so far, thank you so, so, so much. You're all superfabulous. And to anyone who's reading it and not reviewing, please review. I wanna hear what you think.

**Chapter Nine: Confrontations**

•••••

"Leo!" Piper called from the attic for the fifth time. "Leo! Would you please get your ass down here? We've got a situation!" She added with a touch of anger in her voice. Familiar blue orbs appeared in front of her and were quickly replaced by her boyfriend.

"Bout time." She said giving Leo a stern look.

"What's the matter?"

"Prue is missing." Piper said as she began pacing.

"What? Why didn't you call me sooner?" He asked, panic rising in his voice.

"Well, I tried. But somebody didn't answer." She quipped and shot him another harsh look.

"What happened?"

"She ran off." Leo looked at Piper questioningly. "Phoebe and her are having problems, sisterly ones. And now I can't get a hold of her. She's not answering her cell phone and I'm worried."

"When did she leave?"

"Last night. And she was angry and upset. And something bad could've happened to her. Leo, can you orb me to her?" She asked, worried that her sister could be lying dead somewhere.

"Yeah, just give me a second to sense her first." Piper nodded and waited patiently as her husband searched for Prue. "Okay, I've got her." He said as his eyes opened. He took Piper in his arms and orbed them to Prue.

Piper pulled away from Leo and took in her surroundings. She was startled by the appearance of the room. She saw the bottle of whiskey and was surprised by the amount that had been drunk.

"Piper," Leo whispered as his eyes fell on the bed.

Piper spun around to see what Leo wanted her attention for. She saw a human form lying in the bed. Piper walked over to the side of the bed and pulled the blankets off of Prue's face. She was sound asleep but had tear stains on her cheeks. Piper knelt down on the floor beside the bed and started stroking Prue's hair.

"Prue, honey, it's time to wake up." _After all, it is three in the afternoon,_ Piper thought.

Prue's eyes flickered open and she winced at the sunlight in the room. She had a slight hangover from last night's drinking and the sun wasn't helping any. Her eyes focused on the person in front of her. She registered the person as Piper and pulled away from her.

"Go away." Prue said and rolled over on her other side so that her back was to Piper. Piper looked up at Leo, worry evident on her face. He shrugged at her. She stood up and grabbed Prue's purse off the nightstand.

"Orb us home." She whispered to Leo. He put one hand on Prue's arm and held Piper's hand in the other. Within seconds, they were in Prue's bedroom. Prue sat straight up on the bed and looked angrily at Leo.

"Take me back."

"Nope." Piper said and dropped the purse onto a nearby chair.

"Piper, I'm a grown woman, you can't make me do things that I don't want to do. Now orb me back there. My car's there."

"There's not a chance in hell I'm letting you stay in that dump. This is your home. You belong here."

"But what about Phoebe?"

"She'll get over it."

"Not today. Not tomorrow. Not for a while."

"That doesn't matter. We need you here. You know, the whole power of three thing? If a demon attacks, we need you here. Phoebe knows that." Prue looked angrily at Piper. "I need you here, Prue." Piper said and started for the door, Leo followed. Prue stared after them and finally collapsed back onto her bed.

•••••

Phoebe came home that afternoon to find both Piper's and Prue's cars gone. She opened the front door, dropped her stuff on the ground and started to go upstairs when she noticed Leo sitting in the living room reading a book.

"Hey Leo." He looked up from his book and smiled at her.

"Hey." He quickly turned his attention back to his book as she headed towards the stairs. There was a knock at the door and they both looked at it and then at each other. "I'll get it." He said and stood up and walked into the foyer. She continued up the stairs.

Leo opened the front door to find Gavin standing nervously on the front porch. He offered up a smile and Leo quickly returned it.

"Can I help you?"

"Um. Yeah. I'm looking for Phoebe. Is she here?"

"Yeah. Come on in." Leo said and opened the door wider for him to enter. "Phoebe!" Leo called up to Phoebe who had just reached the second floor landing. A few seconds later, Phoebe appeared and leaned over the banister at the floor below. A scowl formed on her face when she saw her visitor. She walked down into the foyer and over to the waiting men.

"Thanks, Leo." She said with a smile. She turned towards Gavin and looked angrily at him. Leo caught her scowl as he turned to leave the foyer. "What the hell are you doing here? I know what happened."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't."

"What have I done?"

"My sister." Phoebe winced at her choice of words. Leo heard this exchange and decided he should keep an ear open just in case.

"I'm so sorry Phoebe. She seduced me. Afterwards, she told me she had planned the whole thing out." He said with a look of innocence.

"No she didn't. She's not the slimeball. You are. I know she'd never intentionally do something to hurt me."

"But she slept with me. It's all her fault."

"But she didn't mean to hurt me. You did." She paused and shot him another dirty look. "We are so beyond over. Get out."

"But it was all Prue's fault. She came on to me. I never stood a chance."

"Get out." Phoebe said again firmly. Leo appeared in the doorway between the living room and the conservatory when he heard Phoebe tell Gavin to leave.

"Bitch. We could've been so good together."

"Nothing associated with you is good." She never had a chance to duck before his fist connected with her left eye. She heard heavy footsteps run up behind her and looked up at Gavin to see him pinned to the door by Leo.

"You bastard." Leo said through clenched teeth. Gavin held up his hands in an attempt to surrender. Without thinking, Leo raised up his fist and began to swing at him when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Let him go. He's not worth it."

Leo put his hand down and released Gavin's shirt from his other hand. He slowly backed away, but stayed directly in between Gavin and Phoebe. "Get out." He said, his husky voice threatening. Afraid of Leo, Gavin quickly opened the door and left.

"What happened?" Leo asked as he turned towards Phoebe. She was gently touching the area around her eye and wincing after each touch. _The bastard,_ he thought. _If I ever see him again, I'll-_

"I broke up with him."

"So he hits you?"

"Well, he's obviously not the greatest guy in the world." She said with a slight smile.

"Has he ever done that before?" He was instinctively protective of the Halliwell sisters and now it showed more than it ever had before.

"No. But he probably would've eventually. I guess Prue did some good when she made me realize what shit he is." She winced again.

"Do you want me to heal that for you?"

"No, I'll be fine." She smiled and started to go upstairs. She stopped on the stairs and turned towards Leo. "Leo?"

"Yeah?" He turned to look up at her.

"Thanks." Phoebe smiled at him and continued going up the stairs. Leo watched her go and went back to the living room.

"Bastard." He muttered to himself.

•••••

A few hours later, Prue was sitting on her bed reading a book when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." Piper opened the door and sat down on the bed in front of Prue.

"What ya reading?" Piper asked just as Phoebe walked past the door. The sight of both her sisters caught her eye and she marched in, obviously angry.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Phoebe asked. The area around her eye that Gavin had punched had now turned a dark shade of purple-blue. At the sight of her bruise, both sisters jumped off the bed and rushed over to her.

"Phoebe, what happened?" Prue asked, going into what Piper and Phoebe referred to as her "mother mode".

"That bitch of an ex-boyfriend hit me. Now why are you here?"

"He hit you?"

"Yes. I broke up with him and he hit me."

"Are you okay?" Phoebe could see the concern in Prue's eyes and she was grateful for it. But it didn't fix her anger.

"I'm fine. Now why are you here?"

"She's here because we need the power of three under one roof."

"Stay out of this, Piper. This is between me and Prue." Phoebe said, her eyes never leaving Prue's.

"I'm in this. I made her come here."

"Then make her leave." Phoebe broke her gaze at Prue and glared harshly at Piper.

"Phoebe, she's your sister."

"Sisters don't sleep with each other's boyfriends."

"Phoebe, I'm sorry." Prue said.

"Sorry isn't good enough, Prue."

"I know. But I am."

That was all it took to set Phoebe off.

"Frankly, I don't give a shit how you're feeling. Did you ever once think about how I would feel when you were screwing my boyfriend? He wasn't even just a boyfriend. I was actually picturing a future with that man. I was in love with him. But love doesn't matter in Prue's world, does it? You're above everyone else, so it doesn't matter whose world you shatter just as long as you can get what you want."

Prue stood there and took her youngest sister's attack, never once attempting to stick up for herself. Instead, she let the tears fall. Piper attempted to interject many times, but each was cut off by another venomous attack on Prue.

"Well, you know what Prue? You shattered my world now. But does it matter to you? No. And that's what sickens me." Phoebe turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving both Piper and Prue stunned by her outburst.

"You know she doesn't mean any of that." Piper quickly turned towards Prue and tried to pull her into a hug. Prue pulled away and looked down at the floor.

"She should. It's true."

"No, it isn't." She said with concern obvious in her tone and her eyes. "It's not true at all." The tears kept rolling down Prue's cheeks. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Prue said as she wiped her cheeks dry. "I just want to be alone for a little while."

"Are you sure?" Prue nodded. "Alright. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs." Prue nodded again and watched Piper leave. She grabbed her purse off the bed and went into the bathroom. She locked the door and the tears started streaming down her cheeks again.


	10. Train Wreck

**A/N: **The last chapter I posted was in April. That's what, eight months now::looks around the room innocently: Anyways, the story is practically over, just this chapter, and one more. Which is already written. And will be posted sometime early next week. I wanna give a little time for this chapter to stand on its own. Just for a bit. Anyways, to everyone who has read this story, those who have written reviews and not, thank you ever so much for reading it. It means the world to me that you gave my story the time of day. And this is gettin lengthy isn't it? And to everyone who's reviewed, you guys are why there is a chapter six, and seven, all the way to ten and eleven. and that rhymed. ha! Right, so thank you so so so so so so much for pushing me, however unknowingly, to finish this story. You guys rock! Right, so nobody read this author's note, but that's okay. The chapter's the part that counts, right:o)

**Chapter Ten: Train Wreck**

•••••

Prue's eyes shot around the room. She looked down at her legs and saw the fresh wounds that were dripping blood. She didn't remember tearing up her shins, but when she saw the razorblade on the floor beside her, she knew she had. She looked over in the direction of the toilet but there was no toilet paper. She looked through the cabinets, but she had no luck there either. She decided she had no other choice but to try to use a washcloth or two to stop the bleeding.

She pulled them out of the cabinet and pressed them down on her wounds. The two rags were quickly drenched in blood and she threw them in the trash can. She grabbed two more and with more than a little pressure, the bleeding subsided. While breathing a small sigh of relief, she heard a sharp pounding and recognized it as someone knocking at the door.

"Prue, are you okay? You've been in there for twenty minutes."

"Yeah. I'm fine." She muttered and threw the rags in the trash can and pushed her pant legs down. She taped the blade back to the sink then checked her clothes for any possible hint of what she had been doing. When she found none, she jumped up and opened the door revealing a worried Piper. "See- fine."

"What were you doin?" She asked, cautiously looking around the bathroom for any unusual activity. When she found none, she glanced at her sister who was strangely silent. "Well?"

"Nothing." Prue answered defensively. She pushed past Piper and hurried into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Piper watched her go and shook her head. She silently turned, and went up the stairs and into the attic.

Phoebe had opened her bedroom door and peaked her head through the crack when she heard Piper pounding on the bathroom door for what she thought was the fifth time. She watched as the door opened and Piper carefully looked at the bathroom. And she winced when Prue looked like she was about to pounce on Piper. And when Prue walked away, Phoebe's gaze unconsciously drifted down to her legs. She noticed a small stain on the back of the leg of Prue's jeans and became curious. After Piper left, she eyed Prue's closed door and wondered what was going on with her eldest sister.

•••••

Prue heard the door open behind her and sighed. She knew it was Piper. Because Piper just couldn't leave well enough alone. She continued to stare out of her bedroom window, carefully studying the landscape before her. She heard her sister take a few steps towards her and inside she snapped.

"Get out," She said threateningly, her tone dangerously low. She refused to turn around though. She didn't want to see Piper. Didn't want to see what she was doing to her. She didn't care. At least, that's what she told herself. She heard a few more steps behind her, coming closer. She turned around sharply and harshly looked her sister square in the eye. What she didn't expect to find was Phoebe. She was stunned but still refused to back down.

"What's happening to you?" She asked quietly, her voice full of concern. Phoebe looked Prue up and down nervously. She hardly recognized the woman standing before her. Prue used to be so vibrant, so full of life. This woman was bitter, silent where Prue would've been fiery. And angry when Prue would have been loving. Phoebe looked into Prue's eyes and saw nothing, no spark, no anything. Phoebe shuddered, thinking she had caused Prue to fall apart. She felt guilty, shocked, and angry, although with each look into Prue's eyes, her anger faded just a bit more. But most of all, she was scared. Prue was in trouble. And that was uncharted territory for all three of them.

"Nothing," Prue answered nonchalantly.

"Prue," Phoebe started in the soft, sweet voice she hadn't used with Prue since before.. the incident happened. Prue flinched.

"Don't talk to me like that." She said, now refusing to meet Phoebe's gaze. She found a spot on the wall over Phoebe's shoulder and kept her eyes fixed on it.

"Prue, look at me. Please." Phoebe begged softly. Her sister was crumbling right in front of her and she was afraid there was nothing she could do to fix it. She took a step towards her. Prue took one step backwards, away from her.

"Would you please just leave? You shouldn't be here." She shifted her focus nervously, this time she looked over towards her bed and prayed that Phoebe would just leave.

"I think we need to talk, Prue." She kept her voice calm, but inside she was screaming. Alarms were going off in her head, screaming Prue is in trouble over and over and over again. Prue took another step backwards and her eyes shot up to look at Phoebe, but only for a moment. She was terrified.

"No, we don't." Her breathing was beginning to become ragged and her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She inwardly cursed herself; this was not the time to be having a panic attack. "Please, leave me alone." She looked at Phoebe again, except this time she was out of focus. Prue blinked a few times, and saw her sister clearly again.

"Why? Prue, what's wrong?" Prue shook her head no firmly. "There is something wrong, I can see that. Why won't you open up to me?" Prue refused to answer her. It was growing harder for her to breathe, and the pressure her sister was putting on her wasn't helping. She needed a way out. And fast.

"I have to get out of here." Prue said hoarsely. She bolted, running right past Phoebe. She flew down the stairs and out the front door, very aware of the footsteps echoing her own. When she got out to the street, she made a sharp right and ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the only place she could think of as being safe.

•••••

"Phoebe, let her go!" Phoebe heard from behind her as she was about to run outside to chase after Prue. She stopped in the doorway and watched her oldest sister run down the driveway and down the street until she was out of her sight. She felt someone beside her and looked to see Piper looking out the open door as well.

"Shouldn't we go after her? I'm not sure she should be alone." Piper shook her head no, silencing her sister. Phoebe wanted more of an answer than that. The simple movement definitely didn't calm her nerves about Prue. "Are you sure?"

"I know where she's going." Piper said as she shifted her gaze to her younger sister. "Besides, I think a little time out of the house for Prue is a good thing... I'm really getting worried about her."

"You're not the only one." Phoebe muttered. Piper raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why are you worried? I thought you were angry at her?"

"Not anymore. I'm just scared." That earned a very worried look from Piper. Just an hour ago, Phoebe was flaming mad at Prue, and now she's worried about her. Piper couldn't imagine what caused the change. So she decided to ask.

"What happened?"

Phoebe didn't answer. Instead, she turned and jogged back up the stairs. Piper decided to follow and when she made it upstairs, she found Phoebe in the bathroom giving the whole room a very thorough examination. She watched as Phoebe looked from the bathtub to the shower. Both were dry. Phoebe turned to the sink and found nothing.

"She was in here for a half an hour doing something. And whatever it was has to be at least a part of why she's changed."

"So that's what you're doing?" Phoebe nodded. "Maybe she was crying. With the way today has been, I wouldn't be at all surprised..." She stopped when she noticed the sad expression that formed on Phoebe's face. "Sorry."

"I shouldn't have yelled at her. Whatever's going on is my fault." She took in a deep breath. "But what was she doing in here?"

"Crying."

"But I didn't hear any sobs." Phoebe said as she turned towards her sister.

"Check the trashcan and you'll see the tissues. Prue's good at crying quietly." Phoebe nodded and opened the cabinet door underneath the sink. She pulled out the trashcan and looked curiously at the contents. Piper studied her sister. "What is it?"

"Bloody washcloths." She said softly and looked up at Piper. She watched as a look of terror spread across Piper's face and Phoebe shook her head no. "You don't think that Prue would..." She said slowly and stopped when Piper started nodding. "She would never."

"Then how do you explain that?" Piper said, pointing to the trashcan. Phoebe stood silent for a moment, trying to pull another piece of the puzzle out of thin air, but it wasn't there to grab.

"But you can't just assume that she would... there could be another explanation." Piper nodded slowly.

"Let's hope so. But now I think we better go make sure Prue's safe." Phoebe nodded and put the trashcan back where it belonged and walked over to her sister. Piper gave Phoebe a quick hug and they walked down stairs together, on their way to a conversation both of them were dreading.


	11. Safe and Sound

**A/N:** Due to the fact that it's the last chapter and the long noteI left last chapter, I'm keeping it short. Thank you everyone. I really hope you like this ending. I wrestled with it for a while. And it's a little fluffy at the end. So be prepared. Will there be a sequel? I'm already thinking about it. But it'll be different. And not anytime soon. So don't wait for it. Anyways, this isn't so short is it? Thanks for reading.

**Chapter Eleven: Safe and Sound**

•••••

Prue swung slowly. Back and forth. Back and forth. Dragging her feet on the ground like she had done when she was a child. She, Piper and Phoebe used to play in this park when they were little, as it was conveniently just blocks from their house. Days were so simple then. The worst that could happen was Phoebe doing something Phoebe-like to her and the both of them getting in trouble while Piper watched innocently. Now, everything was too complicated.

She had never seen the park so dead. The moonlight illuminated the grounds in a way that made Prue feel at ease, almost completely calm. She was almost positive the park had a curfew, and that she was breaking it, but it didn't matter. She needed to feel peace, if only for a moment. She knew it wouldn't last long; she would have to confront her sister again sooner or later.

When she heard leaves crunching on the ground behind her, she knew that the moment had come. Two figures sat down on the two empty swings, one on each side of Prue. She heard a deep intake of breath followed by a small sob. She turned towards the noise, on her left, and came face to face with a sullen Phoebe. The sight of her baby sister in such a state sent her heart pounding heavily in her chest with guilt.

"Hi, beautiful," Phoebe quietly said and mustered up a small smile. Prue could tell she was desperately trying to keep herself together. She felt a tugging on her swing and turned to her right to see Piper pulling herself closer to Prue. Phoebe did the same, wrapping her arms around Prue's waist and lying her head on Prue's shoulder. Prue instinctively wrapped her arms protectively around both of her sisters.

"I'm sorry, Phoebe." Prue said hoarsely.

"Don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for." Phoebe tightened her grip on Prue.

"Yes I do. God, I screwed up so bad." Phoebe pulled away and looked Prue square in the eye. What she saw there, she hated.

"Prue, don't beat yourself up over this." Prue looked as though she were made of porcelain and at the slightest prying, she would break. Phoebe shuddered at seeing Prue so different from the Prue she had always known. "The only person that screwed up was that slimeball." Phoebe took in a deep breath to keep herself calm. "You, my sister, are a goddess. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, and that's good enough for me." She paused again, what she was about to say hurt her, but it needed to be said. "Please don't hurt yourself. It hurts me seeing you in so much pain." Because of me.

Prue looked back at Phoebe curiously. "Hurt myself?"

"We know, Prue." Prue still held a baffled look on her face. "We know about your.. we know that you've been hurting yourself... physically because of this fight." The expression fell off Prue's face quickly and was replaced with a blank, empty look. "Please don't shut us out."

Phoebe couldn't help but feel guilty. If she had just let it go, if she had just not been angry at Prue. If she hadn't yelled at her. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened. It was her fault. She drove Prue to tear herself open. And then she didn't notice. She didn't care until it was right there in front of her, yelling at her. Screaming at her, Prue was in pain. And she couldn't see that sooner.

"How did you find out?" Prue asked softly.

"I looked in the trash can in the bathroom."

Prue only nodded. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't say anything that would help. She hurt her sister, both of them, and then she hurt them more. No matter what Phoebe said, she felt guilty. She was guilty. She did screw up. Nothing could change that. She tore her eyes away from Phoebe's, and found something interesting in the grass to look at.

"I love you, Prue." Phoebe said. Prue's blue eyes shot back up to meet hers. Prue was surprised. Phoebe didn't know why; Prue knew she loved her. At least she hoped she did. She always told her so, but she couldn't make Prue believe it. That was up to Prue.

"I love you too." Prue said quietly. She could feel her facade melting away and soon she had tears trickling down her cheeks. Phoebe pulled Prue into her and hugged her tightly, raking her fingers through Prue's hair while Prue sobbed into her shoulder. Phoebe stole a glance at Piper, who was softly rubbing Prue's back and watching the two of them silently. Their gazes met and Piper nodded her head at Phoebe as if to say good job. They both knew that Prue needed to open up to them.

After a few minutes, Prue's well seemed to have dried up. She pulled away from Phoebe, almost seeming to be ashamed, and wiped her cheeks dry. Phoebe put a finger under Prue's chin and forced Prue to look at her. Prue tried to assure Phoebe she was fine by forcing a small smile.

"Hiding your feelings is not going to help you get better." When Prue looked at her confused, she knew this was going to be a tough journey for the three of them. "Prue, what you've done to yourself- what you're doing to yourself- you can't keep doing that. We need to get you past this hell that you're going through."

"We?" Prue couldn't help but be confused by that. Why would Phoebe want to help her? Prue had made her so angry only hours before, why had that suddenly changed just because of this new revelation? What was the big deal?

"Yes. You, me and Piper. We're gonna get you through this."

"Prue, no matter what, we can't let you keep doing what you're doing. And we're going to make sure that you don't do it again." Piper put more emphasis on again than she meant to and recieved a questioning look from Phoebe. Prue looked at Piper, then at Phoebe, and could tell Piper knew her last secret and that Phoebe didn't.

"Prue, what-" Prue opened her mouth and Phoebe quickly shut hers. Prue took in a deep, ragged breath and decided it was time to tell Phoebe the one thing she knew her baby sister didn't know about her.

"When I was younger... sometime in high school, I got really... depressed, I guess. And for a while, I would..." Prue stopped, unable to say the phrase that tore at her core.

"For how long?"

"A couple months, maybe. I don't really know." Prue lied. Four years. And ten months. And seventeen days. It killed her, lying like that. But it was better Phoebe not know the complete truth.

"Prue." Piper said quietly. Prue looked over at her sister. "You don't need to protect us from the truth anymore. We can handle it." Prue shook her head slightly.

"How long?" Phoebe asked again.

"A while."

"Prue, please." Prue looked into Phoebe's pleading eyes. They hadn't changed a bit since Phoebe was born and Prue found comfort in that. "How long?" Prue tore her eyes away and glanced around the park for a few moments before giving in.

"Almost five years." They sat in silence for quite a few long minutes before Phoebe whispered a new question.

"How come I never knew?" Phoebe asked softly.

"I hid it. I thought from both of you, but apparently not." She said, sadly looking over at Piper. "I never wanted either of you to know. Ever. Especially not when you were so young." Again, she threw an apologetic look at Piper. Piper then took Prue's hand in her own and gave it a squeeze.

"Why'd you stop?" Prue looked over at Phoebe again. She could see the curiosity in those hazel eyes. She didn't know whether to tell her the truth, a partial version, or nothing at all. "I'm a grown woman, Prue. I can handle the truth." Phoebe knew her better than she had thought. It sent a small smile to her lips.

"It was getting out of control. It felt like if I didn't stop when I did, I wouldn't ever be able to." She took in another deep breath. This conversation was going smoother with her sisters than she had thought, but it was much harder than she had imagined. It brought up too many bad memories. "I was scared I would accidentally do something permanent. And I couldn't do that to you two." Phoebe looked at her somewhat curiously again. "I couldn't let you live your lives thinking I had killed myself. I didn't want you to have to go through losing someone else."

"It sounds like you didn't stop for yourself." Phoebe noted quietly.

"I don't think I did. I did it for you two. You gave me hope. And that pulled me through it all." She said very gently. Phoebe nodded and cuddled into her sister once again. They all three sat still for quite a while, enjoying being a family again.

"Ahem." A husky voice said behind them. They all three spun around and looked at the man standing behind them. "I do believe this park is under curfew, ladies." A very handsome police officer said after shining a flashlight in the girls' faces.

"And we're going home now, officer." Prue said smiling and stood up. Both of her sisters followed suit. He shot a smile back at Prue that none of the girls could possibly miss.

"Now, wait a minute. You think you can just break the curfew and then go home, without having to pay a price?" The girls froze.

"You don't think he's going to take us to jail, do you?" Phoebe whispered to Piper, keeping her eyes locked on the "smokin' hottie" in front of her.

"Not with the way he's lookin' at Prue, I don't." Piper replied with a smirk. Phoebe glanced over at Piper and giggled. Prue shot both of her sisters a harsh look. They quickly got serious. When Prue looked back at the policeman, neither one could help but smile once again.

"I'm sorry about my sisters. It was my fault that we were out here tonight. Is there anyway that you could just put the blame- and the punishment- on just me?"

"Well, Miss..."

"Halliwell."

"Miss Halliwell, I'd be willing to forget about this little meeting if you and I could possibly have another meeting. Perhaps Friday night?" Prue heard giggles coming from behind her and nodded at the officer.

"Friday night it is, then."

"Is eight alright?"

"Perfect."

"Where do you live?"

"The big red house right over there." Prue said, pointing right at the Halliwell Manor. The policeman nodded.

"I will pick you up on Friday, then." He said and began to turn away before stopping and looking back at Prue. "By the way, my name's Charlie Reed."

"Prue Halliwell."

"It's very nice to meet you, Prue." He said with a smile and walked back to his car. He pulled out of the parking lot and out of sight. And that was when both Phoebe and Piper started singing.

"Prue and Charlie sittin in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g."

Prue smiled and started to walk back to the house with her giggling sisters in tow. After a few seconds, they were calm again and Phoebe looked at Prue seriously as they trekked across the park to their house.

"Now, Prue, I could be crazy, completely and totally insane."

"Oh, I already knew that." Prue answered.

"I'm not done yet." Prue smiled and let Phoebe continue. "I could be dreaming this, but... I think he likes you!" Phoebe said with too much enthusiasm for Prue.

"Remember, I'm only going on a date with him to get you two out of trouble." Phoebe and Piper both scoffed at Prue's words.

"Now, Prudence, I saw that smile you flashed at him. I think he's gonna be Prue's loverboy from now on." Piper said, winking at Phoebe. She took Prue's hand in her own. Phoebe noticed and followed suit. Prue looked from one sister to the other, noting both of their smiling faces. She had missed this. They were sisters again. Not that they weren't before, but it had definately felt that way to Prue. When she lost her sisters, she lost herself. Now that she had both her sisters and herself back, she was going to fight like hell to keep it that way.


End file.
